Heretofore compression stockings have been designed to address specialized needs of both athletes and medical patients. Venous disorders provide the most prevalent need today for such stockings. More specifically, they have been designed and developed to apply different degrees of pressure to different portions of the body parts over which they are worn for enhanced venal flow. Exemplary of such compression stockings are those described and shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,745,917, 6,012,177, 6,105,173, 6,216,495 and 6,371,933.
With some compression stockings however excessive stress is produced on the yarns and knit structures in the heels of the stockings while being donned. In other cases wrinkling occurs in the foot crest or arch, also known as the malleolar region, of the stocking over the ankle circumferentially opposite the heel once the stocking has been donned. This wrinkling can cause dermatological irritation which is commonly known as necrosis or skin shearing. These problems have been addressed by providing a stocking gap in the area of the heel. However this, of course, exposes the heel and stresses the gap boundary of the stocking stitching. In other cases one or more patches have been sewn into these problem areas. This approach however negates the stocking from being produced in an integrated knit stitch format with its attendant manufacturing efficiency. It also fails to produce a seamless product.